Voyage to the Academy
by TheHallow
Summary: *This is a continuation of NeverHeardOfFanFicUntilNow's story "Voyage for the Academy", I do have permission to finish the story for NeverHeard. the chapters after Chapter 6 are my chapters* Jim is finally starting his future. He sets out on the long-awaited journey to the Interstellar Academy. But when things go horribly wrong, it is now up to Jim and Jim alone to fix it.
1. Chapter 1: Sympathy

_A/N: I have received permission from NeverHeardOfFanFicUntilNow to do this. This is a continuation of her story "Voyage for the Academy". Since NeverHeard posted that she was feeling a lack of inspiration to finish her story, I asked her if she would like me to finish it for her. Instead, she told me that I could write my own version the way I wanted to, and that I could use her first seven chapters. :) So here it is! Although I am technically picking up her story where she left off, she will still be adding on to her own version. So I suggest you go take a look at it as it is the original and It's definitely worth searching for, it is an excellent story! Trust me! :P I don't know when she will be updating, or if she will be updating anytime soon, so you should favorite it so that you know when she does :P _

_Alright! so here is NeverHeard's first chapter :P _

_(All the titles after this Chapter, I came up with myself :P) _

* * *

Chapter 1: Sympathy

Jim was spacesick. He'd never, not even on the journey to... _that__place_ been spacesick. He swore, if he ever got it again, he would find a blackhole and jump; it was an absolutely, horrifyingly, crappy monstrosity of a feeling. But then again, maybe it was just nerves.

He was completely terrified, he admitted it. He knew it was a huge honour and an amazing opportunity and stuff like that, but man, it was really hard leaving home that morning. His mom had gone through his bag about a hundred times before she was going to let him go, and even then, she hugged him for a bit longer than he would've liked. Well, Jim didn't mind, but there were a lot of people at the Spceport, and some of the recruits were already on the ship to go to the Academy. He really wanted to tell her what he had before - he'd make her proud - but, well, it seemed kind of out of place. So he gave her a quick smile and boarded the ship without a glance back. It was a lot harder than he'd thought it would be.

His thoughts were interrupted as he felt his stomach convulse, and he vomited over the side, into the grey-blue void. Coughing and hacking he came back up, and looked around to see if anyone had seen him. This was completely humiliating.

Most of the Academy recruits were busy over on the other side of the deck, doing whatever the hell Academy boys do in their spare time. Jim scoured the place and didn't see anyone around, so he figured he was safe. At least until the next bout came. God, this was torture.

He flopped down onto a barrel pushed against the deck rail and rubbed his eyes. This was not exactly the way he'd picture beginning his future. In fact, this was nothing like the way he'd pictured beginning his future. He'd expected to make that journey to the Academy in no time. He was going to walk in, and probably some of the Academy boys were going to judge him, because he wasn't raised with the same stuff they were, but, man, when they saw his sailing, their jaws would hit the floor. There they were, thinking they were the best of the best, and then he walked in and BAM! They wouldn't know what hit them. He would rattle the stars.

But no, instead he was sitting by the side, regularily emptying his stomach into the galaxy. Just the kind of brave first impression he'd hoped to make.

His stomach clenched again, and Jim tried to fight it, but eventually it came up anyway, so he leaned over the side and waited. When it was over, he sat back down on his barrel again, and anticipated the next wave. So far, Jim hated his enrollment at the Interstellar Academy.

It wasn't normal for Donna to notice anyone around her - especially not a boy. It wasn't like _that_, she told herself. The boy was spacesick. It wasn't like she was noticing his looks - in fact, the exact opposite. She was watching him to make sure he didn't fall off the ship every time he hurled over the side. She rolled her eyes - some spacer he was going to be if he couldn't even keep his lunch down on a boat.

"Spacers!" The Captain called from the quarterdeck. "Assemble!"

Donna ran up to the captain, hoping to get his attention before the Academy boys came around. "Uncle Rorey, there's a lad spacesick long the portside. Could I take him down away from the others?"

Her uncle, who was also the captain, looked down at her. "Spacesick? Which one?" He had never really been one of discretion, so when she pointed meekly to the sick boy, he nodded vigorously and shouted, "Hey! You there, looking green-faced! Donna here'll fix ya right up, and then we expect you to be ready for action! This be not an Academy for weaklings!"

The boy's head snapped up and looked over at the crowd of people by the quarterdeck. The boys that had gathered laughed and jeered and pointed. Looking completely mortified, he stood up, grabbed his bag, and wandered over to join the mob. He dropped his shoulders and lifted his chin, trying his best to look unscathed, but failing miserably to Donna's keen eye. Uncle Rorey shook his head and turned to address the Academy boys.

Donna leaped out of the shadows beside him. "You won't do them no good if you're going to be sick on them," she said quietly, grabbing his arm. The boy followed her with almost no resistance down into the galley, where she sat him on the floor and handed him a bowl. "If you feel the need, use it."

The boy stared up at her defiantly. "I'm not weak," he said, pushing the bowl away. Donna simply smirked and hopped up onto the counter. She watched the boy; It wouldn't be long. He realized what she was waiting for and set his face with determination. They stared each other down - Donna with amusement, the boy defending his pride, neither wanting to be the first to break the unspoken challenge.

And Donna saw when it came. The boy's eyes flashed and his stomach convulsed. Her smirk morphed into a full-blown smile then, and she leaned back on her arms, just waiting for him to give up and reach for the bowl. The boy linked his hands behind his head and leaned against the cupboard, shrugging casually. Still, Donna could see his clenched jaw and straining neck muscles. When a faint sweat appeared on his brow, she decided it was time to raise the stakes.

"If you hurl, it's you who's mopping it up." She began to sway her crossed legs - this was too much fun.

It was a losing bet and the boy knew it. Nevertheless, he shrugged again, despite the obvious nausea it caused. He ground his teeth together so hard Donna was surprised his jaw didn't break, but he still maintained his pose. He was strong, she admitted, he was doing a good job of fighting it, but eventually, your body wins. Always. It was just a matter of time.

He coughed violently, and a moment later he was on all fours over the bowl, thoroughly spewing out whatever his stomach had left, considering he had already emptied it several times before. When he came back up, wiping his lips on his sleeve, Donna was waiting with a glass of water.

"Just rinse your mouth," she instructed, the smirk suddenly hiding somewhere she couldn't find it. "I'll get another one for you to drink."

He looked up at her, looking for traces of sarcasm or mockery, and upon finding none, grudgingly took the mug. "Thanks," he muttered. He slurped some water and then spat it into the bowl.

Donna took the empty glass and handed him another. "How come you're going to the Academy if you get spacesick?" she asked. She took the cup and tossed it into the small-but-growing pile of dishes beside the basin. When she turned back around, the boy had risen and was giving her a fierce glare. "Hey, I didn't mean no offence," she continued. She looked down at the bowl she would eventually have to pick up in disgust. "Just a question, that's all."

His answer was so quiet Donna almost didn't hear it. "I don't get spacesick."

She laughed and put her hands on her hips. "What d'ya call this, then?"

He looked away and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Nothing. A bug. I dunno." He turned to go back upstairs, but Donna stopped him dead.

"You're hiding something."

He turned around slowly, a bitter smile on his face. "So what if I am? Doesn't matter to you."

She growled somewhere in the back of her throat, a sound she never knew she could make. It was a little disturbing, and a little hilarious. "The Academy doesn't take liars, bigshot, so whatever you got up you're sleeve better come out right now."

His smile grew. "Look, don't try to be tough. It doesn't suit you."

Donna folded her arms across her chest. "This is why I don't like Academy boys. They act like they own the universe. And then, when someone comes along who questions it, they brush them off. It's guys like _you_who make me angry." Donna sighed. This was the downside to life at sea - the annoying jerks you had to deal with.

The boy looked surprised. "Uh, sorry, I... I'm not like that, I don't..." He trailed off.

Donna huffed and reached for the bowl. "Ok, sure."

"Really." He bent down and picked up the bowl before she could reach it, then asked, "Where's this go?"

She stared at him. What was he trying to pull? "Up on deck and over the side." She somehow doubted he would be willing to walk up onto the deck with a bowl of his own puke and dump it into the universe, but hey, it was worth a shot.

He looked up as if to say, "Why me?" but still turned and marched up the stairs. Donna waited by the basin, waiting to see if he would do as promised. She found herself hoping he would, and mentally shook herself. First the whole noticing thing, and now this. She rolled her eyes.

Moments later, she heard footsteps on the stairs, and she looked over to see the boy jump down the entire flight, empty bowl in hand. "There you go, miss... Donna?"

She scowled at him. "Donna's fine. And, um, thanks. I guess." She took the bowl and threw it into the dish pile. She felt bad for whoever had to wash them later... but, oh wait, it would probably be her.

"No problem. And I'm Jim, if you were wondering, or-"

She smiled. "I wasn't."

He coughed. "Well, um, I'm gonna go see what I'm, uh, supposed to be doing. Bye."

She stopped him again. "You didn't tell me whatever you're hiding."

He sighed. "You're not gonna let this go, are you?"

She shrugged. "Oh, I'm not stopping you. I'm just trying to figure out whether you're a total ass or not."

He gave a small shrug. "Well, I'll tell you. Just, not now." He gave her a sly smile over his shoulder, and then jogged up the stairs, out to join the Academy boys.


	2. Chapter 2: Embarrassment

Chapter 2: Embarrassment

Jim tried to join the crowd invisibly, but that failed almost immediately. The boy in front of him turned and smiled. "How ya doing back there?"

Jim glared at him. "Fine."

The boy shrugged and faced forward again. He elbowed his friend and jerked his head back, like he was trying to gesture to Jim without being obvious. The friend looked behind him and sneered. Jim rolled his eyes; _Go__on,__be__a__little__more__obvious.__I__dare__you_.

"Think of this journey as your initiation," the captain was saying. "I expect you each to fulfill your duty as you would on a real voyage. I will be observing your strengths and weaknesses, and once we reach the Interstellar Academy, you will learn whatever I've noticed you don't... excel at," he said, smiling brightly.

Almost on cue, the pack broke up. Jim stood there as boys moved around him, trying to decide what he could do that would receive the least amount of attention. He acted too late, however - the Captain spotted him and beckoned him up to the quarterdeck. Jim reluctantly ran up the stairs to meet him.

"Sir," he said in greeting, dropping his bag by his feet. He stuffed his hands in his pockets, only to pull them back out again when he remembered Amelia's frequent lectures on how posture made all the difference in sailing. Jim didn't see how, but he didn't dare argue with her, especially not with Delbert hovering at her side, giving him the evil eye every time he spoke.

"Your insides still a-swayin' lad?" he asked, grabbing Jim's shoulder and giving him a small shake. Which, he thought, wouldn't have helped him if he _were_still sick.

He looked up at the captain. The man (or half-man, seeing as he seemed to be a mixture of species) seemed only to be showing concern, but this was definitely going on Jim's report. He could see it already: Hawkins, James Pleiades. Would show promise, however, spacesick on maiden voyage. Handle with care. Jim grit his teeth and answered, "No, sir."

The captain smiled merrily and began vigorously shaking Jim's hand. "Glad to hear it, son. Donna's just got a magic touch. Why, just last year she nursed a baby Pygmy Rex back to health. The poor thing went through a full-blown sun storm before he washed up on shore. She was up half the night looking after 'im."

Jim smiled at the thought of the girl he'd met in the galley taking care of a Pygmy Rex. They were small and delicate creatures that Jim just couldn't match up with her. He'd be sure to mention this to her when he saw her again. If he saw her again.

The captain started speaking again. "Now, you just take care now. I'll send Donna to check on you later."

Jim turned and walked away before he said something he would regret. What was with _everyone_ assuming he was a wimp? It wasn't like he had a handicap. He was just spacesick. Which, he realized, _was_ a handicap on a ship. _Oh,__yay._

A tall, scrawny boy approached him. "Hey, you're looking a little green around the gills there. Wanna bucket?" He laughed (a sound that greatly resembled a donkey, Jim noticed) and looked around to see how many of the other boys were watching. Apparently, many; A small crowd began to form.

"Shuttup," Jim replied, stuffing his hands in his pockets again. He stuck out his chin, a gesture Silver had told him made him look tougher. Since then, it was his default move.

The boy put up his hands. "Hey, I didn't mean anything by it. Just figured I'd lend a hand to our less able out here." He smirked and listened to the snickers of the boys around them, and then actually stuck out a hand.

Jim drew his lip up in anger. "Thanks but no thanks, Butterfingers," he replied.

The boy narrowed his eyes. "Take the help while you can, Greenie."

Jim crossed his arms and stuck his chin out farther, which he hoped didn't make him look like a giraffe. The boy shrugged and turned away, pushing through the crowd as he strode away. "You'll regret it," he called over his shoulder.

"Not as much as you," Jim replied. Then, noticing the stares of all the other boys, he turned and hopped into the shrouds. He waited there, feeling all the pairs of eyes on him, and slowly but surely heard the crowd disperse. He exhaled slowly. It wasn't looking good so far.

"Hi," Jim heard from beside him. He looked down to see a small boy, who appeared to be no more than ten or eleven, leaned against the rail below him. Jim grunted in reply.

"I'm Wren," the boy said, inching closer to the rigging.

"Jim," he answered, not bothering to take his eyes off the reddish-orange sky. He wondered how far they'd sailed that day, and how far away the Academy was. Hopefully, it was far enough away that he would have his chance to prove himself, but close enough that nothing else could go wrong. Not that anything would, he told himself, but-

"Nice to meet you Jim," Wren continued, daringly putting one hand on the rope. "Were you really spacesick back there?"

Jim rolled his eyes and said sarcastically, "No, I was faking for sympathy."

"Really? 'Cause it worked on that girl-" Then he picked up the sarcasm. "Oh, right. Well, hope you get better."

"I'm better right now," Jim muttered.

Wren nodded. "Right... Just so you know, I think those guys are all idiots. They already called me out on being so small."

Jim looked down at him. "Small or young?"

He looked hurt. "Small. I'm sixteen."

Jim tried very, very hard to hide his surprise, but he was pretty sure he failed miserably. "Oh. Well, yeah, um ... I guess we're the odd ones out."

Wren nodded and hopped into the shrouds. He hopped back down again when Jim shot him a fierce glare and stared at his hands in embarrassment.

Suddenly they heard the Captain yell, "Alright, gather 'round, spacers!" Jim turned to see the Captain standing by the mast, a long list in hand. He slipped out of the rigging and wandered over to him.

"This here be your cabin numbers. Each night I expect you all in your cabins by ten hour _sharp_, unless you have watch. There will be no exceptions, am I understood?" They all nodded. "Alright. Amesby, Jack and Arnold, Damien, cabin one!"

"Wait, we have roommates?" someone yelled from the back.

The Captain's head shot up. "Yes, sir, and there will be no complaints on the matter!" They all murmured grudging consent. He continued down the list. "Azley, Timothy and Badon, Clark, cabin two!"

He continued yelling out names and cabin numbers. Jim completely zoned out, thinking about nothing in particular, until he heard, "Hawkins, James and Hornferth, Zackary, cabin 25!"

He threw his bag over his shoulder and looked around to see who Zackary was. A blond boy, about his height, came through the crowd and headed towards the stairs. Jim followed him, watching to see if there was any obvious problem with him. He didn't notice anything noticeable as they walked down that stairs and through the hall. The boy turned into cabin 25, Jim right behind him. After he'd thrown his bag on the bed, he turned and greeted Jim. "I'm Zack. You're James. Introductions managed." He flopped down onto the bed and put his arms behind his head.

Jim tossed his bag onto the top bunk of the only bed in the room. "Jim, actually." He wasn't sure if he liked Zack or not yet. He might've been a straightforward kind of guy, or he might've not wanted to talk to Greenie, as Butterfingers had so eloquently named him.

Zack opened his eyes and gave Jim a once-over. "Jim, then."

Jim nodded and looked around the room. It wasn't large, but it was better than the quarters on his last voyage. There was one bunk bed in the room, a desk in the corner, and a porthole on the wall opposite the door. Jim figured it could use some mess, but other than that, it suited him just fine.

"You're gonna get this a lot, so you'd better get used to it now," Zack said suddenly. "How come you're here if you get spacesick?"

Jim grit his teeth. "Look, that doesn't-"

"I'm just asking," Zack cut in, "I'm not trying to get you angry. It just doesn't make sense for someone to be here if they can't-"

"I dunno," Jim answered. "That's a one-time thing. Never had it before, never will again. Happy?"

Zack nodded. "Yeah."

They sat in awkward silence for a while. Just as Jim was about to go out exploring, there was a knock on the door.

"Cabin 25, Hawkins, James and Hornferth, Zackary?" The Captain's voice boomed from the hallway.

"Yes, sir," Jim and Zack said in unison. They looked at each other, and Zack flashed a sly grin. Then he resumed looking like he was sleeping.

"Alright, that's - oh wait now. James, you doing okay?"

Jim rolled his eyes and ignored Zack's snort of laughter. "Yes, sir."

"Good, good. Donna'll be right in to check on you."

"Sir, that's really not..." Jim trailed off as he heard the captain's feet trod down the hallway. He leaned against the wall and slid down until he was sitting. "This is gonna brand me for life," he muttered.

"Oh yes it is," Zack said, even though Jim hadn't really said it to him. They sat in silence again, that was once more interrupted by a knock at the door.

"It's Donna," a voice said from the other side of the door. "Open up."

Jim exhaled and stood up slowly, dreading the thought of seeing the girl again. He stumbled over to the door, opened it, and leaned casually against the frame. With any luck, she'd see he was fine and leave.

Of course she didn't. She pushed past him and dumped her armful of stuff on the desk. "Doctor's here," Zack shouted to no one in particular.

Donna whipped around, a kitchen knife poised in her hand. "Watch it."

Zack eyed the knife warily and backed off, which Jim thought was the best choice. From what he'd seen of Donna, he wouldn't test her abilities with a blade.

"Donna, honestly, I'm _fine,_" he said. This was _really_embarrassing.

She sighed in exasperation and set the knife back down on the desk. "I know you're fine. But that doesn't change the fact that I'm down here on orders." She turned and dug through the pile until she found what she was looking for.

Jim rolled his eyes. "Fine. But make it fast."

"Don't worry, I'll leave you and your roomie plenty of alone time," she answered. He could hear the smirk in her voice even if her back was turned.

Zack scowled and piped up, "Name's Zack."

"Don't care," Donna sang over her shoulder.

Jim grinned. "She does that to everybody," he mouthed at Zack.

Donna pulled out the desk chair and kicked it over to Jim. "Sit," she instructed. He didn't. When she noticed, she grabbed him by the shoulders and shoved him down. When she turned away again, Jim made the ugliest face he could at her back.

Donna tossed a purp over her shoulder, which Jim caught with one hand. "Eat it."

Jim took a bite out of the purp. "Why?"

Donna faced him, a mug in her hand. "Because this tastes disgusting."

He took the mug from her and sniffed it. He coughed as the horrible smell reached his nose and pulled his head back. "And... I'm taking this _why_?"

Donna smiled. "It's a stomach tonic. Nothing special, but it helps spacesickness."

"For the last time, I'm not-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know, just drink the stupid thing," Donna interjected.

Jim stared down into the brown murk. He could see chopped-up bits of purp, and some gross vegetables his mom used to make him eat. He even thought he saw a zorellian jelly worm or two floating around, but he pretended he hadn't. He smelled it again. "Smells like Scroop's feet," he muttered.

Donna stared at him like he was crazy. "What?"

Jim chuckled. "Nothing. Just a guy who used to bug me." Jim laughed inwardly at his own joke. Bug. Ha-ha. Then he remembered that he had killed Scroop with his own hand and became a little more somber.

Donna rolled her eyes. "Drink, so I can leave."

"Alright, alright, I'm going," Jim said, stalling for time. He _really_ didn't want to put the liquid anywhere near his mouth; one sip and he might start puking again. Gathering up his courage, Jim raised the cup to his lips and threw his head back. Donna fell to the ground laughing at the expression on his face. He swallowed the absolutely vile concoction with difficulty, and then immediately chowed down on the purp. "I swear, you made it that bad on purpose," Jim said hoarsely, leaning against the desk.

Donna stood and fought for control over her laughter. "Maybe I did."

Jim narrowed his eyes, but then smiled. "Out. Now."

Donna stepped forward. "Lemme get my stuff and I'll leave you in peace."

"Hallelujah!" Zack shouted from the bed. Donna shot him a death stare.

Jim jumped onto the top bunk and watched her gather the equipment. She seemed to have brought a miniature kitchen with her - mugs, knives, spoons, buckets (buckets?), as well as a few of the ingredients he'd spotted in the tonic. Which, he was dismayed to say, did in fact include zorellian jelly worms. His stomach gurgled in protest. When she'd organized everything into a relatively neat pile, Jim's cabin boy/running-an-inn instincts kicked in and he hopped down beside her. "Want help?"

Donna glared at him. "No."

Jim picked up her stack of dishes. "Too bad. My mom runs an inn."

She shook her head in exasperation, then picked up the remaining things to return to the galley. "Bye, Zack," Donna called over her shoulder as she pulled the door closed.

"So you _do_ know my name!" they heard through the wall. Donna bit her lip to keep from smiling.

They started walking towards the galley. They didn't say one word, mainly because Jim was too busy taking in the beauty of the ship. It wasn't something he would normally notice, really, but this boat was just ... whoa. The hallways were actually _decorated_, a far cry from the R.L.S. Legacy's wooden underside. And - the hallways had carpets, and they weren't dirty. The walls were neat, and the corridors were lit. It was... luxury.

Donna hung a sharp left, Jim turning quickly behind her. They pushed through a door, and Jim was surprised to find that the room wasn't empty. Four men sat around a table, a deck of cards divided between them. "Evening, sirs," Donna greeted in monotone.

The men looked up, and Jim recognized one as the captain. "Donna! Back already? And James! How you farin'?"

Donna looked over and smirked at Jim, and he grunted at her in response. "Fine, sir," he called. He walked around them and set his dishes on the counter.

The captain stood and said to Jim, "Lad, this be my colleagues: Mr. Yono, Mr. Wentworth, and Hardy." He gestured vaguely to the others, and Jim nodded in greeting to all of them.

The three men stood. The one in the bright red coat and official cap said, "Hello, son, I'm Mr. Yono, Captain Rorey's first mate. We're honoured to have you at the Academy. Any trouble and you'll be sent straight to me for punishment, understood?" Jim stared at the man. Way to make a happy first impression.

The fattest of the three stood. He wore an apron and bandana, so Jim assumed he was the cook. "I'm Hardy, I'll be the one putting the food on your plate. You don't want to cross me, now, do you?" The man laughed and clapped Jim's shoulder. He gave Hardy a long look too. It was as if they were... afraid of him, almost. What was going on?

The last man stood. He was thin and pointy. Everywhere. His fingers were bony, his hat was peaked, and his shoulder pads on his coat were even slightly triangular. He stuck out a scrawny hand. "Pleasure to meet you. I'm Mr. Wentworth, the ship's navigator." He smiled at Jim and - guess what - his teeth were sharp. Jim suspiciously grasped his hand and shook it.

The tension was interrupted by a loud clamour behind them. Donna looked up quickly and called, "Sorry, men, just dropped the buckets." She kneeled to pick up the equipment scattered across the floor. Jim made to go help her, but she met his eyes and nodded towards the door. He nodded slowly and left, wondering what that whole scene had been about. Thinking back to Wentworth, he wondered if he should've left Donna there alone, but he decided that the Captain wasn't going to let anything bad happen. At least, Jim hoped. He shook his head. He was tired, and imagining things, and before he could do any more thinking that would probably lead him to do something he would regret, he went back to his cabin to sleep. It was ten hour, after all, and he figured now was as good a time as ever to start following the rules.


	3. Chapter 3: Creepy Smiles

Chapter 3: Creepy Smiles

Donna threw the dishes into the wash pile and sat with the group of men in the galley. She was glad the boy wasn't there anymore, partially because he was starting to get on her nerves, but mostly because she didn't like what she had seen between him and Mr. Wentworth. The navigator hadn't been with them for long, but Donna had a growing suspicion that he wasn't good news. It wasn't only his eerie appearance that put her on edge; He also had a nasty habit of staring people down, as if analyzing their every action. Whether that just meant he was creepy or something more sinister, Donna didn't particularly care to find out. All that mattered was getting to the Academy in one piece, and then she would have the time and means to investigate to her heart's content. For now, however, her concerns consisted of chores and card games.

"Care to deal me in the next round, Uncle Rorey?" she asked, elbowing her uncle's arm.

Her uncle smiled down at her. "Sure, lass. Just go easy on us old men, alright?"

Donna smiled. "You know I won't."

"Oh-ho!" Mr. Yono chimed. "Looks like you've got a challenge there, Rorey!"

The captain smiled and took a swig out of his mug. "Looks like it. Mr. Wentworth, deal us out!"

Wentworth smiled (and the more Donna stared, the creepier it looked) and shuffled the cards. The next thing she knew, Donna had gotten her hand and was playing away, forgetting everything that had been bothering her just moments before.


	4. Chapter 4: A Bribe

Chapter 4: A bribe

The next morning, Jim rose to a loud alarm blaring through the ship. He had no idea where it was coming from, but he knew he wanted it to stop. He heard a loud thump from below him, and looked over the edge of his bed to see Zack splayed out across the floor, a wool blanket tangled around his body. "I'm up," the mound on the floor mumbled.

Jim groaned. "What time is it?"

Zack struggled to lift his head, looked at the clock and answered, "Six."

Jim groaned and sunk back into his pillow. "Too early."

"Too bad," Zack answered, rolling over to his duffle bag. "If you're not there at roll call, you don't get breakfast."

That woke Jim up a little. He was not risking his chances of getting food. He was starving. He kicked off his blanket and swung his legs over the side, then oh-so-gracefully slid to the floor. He landed with a _thunk_ just inches from where Zack now sat, pulling on a clean shirt. "Jeez, don't kill me," he said, head popping out of the neck of the shirt.

"Sorry," Jim mumbled. He stood and grabbed his bag, then fumbled around for some clothes. He hadn't brought much, but he assumed it would last him to the Academy. After putting on some jeans and a ragged shirt, he ran a hand through his hair and followed Zack, who was already out the door.

They walked up onto the deck to find that they were some of the last ones to arrive. Jim couldn't figure out how anyone else had gotten there so quickly, or how hardly any looked like the living dead, as he surely did. God, he was tired. If there was anyway to go back to bed after breakfast, he was going.

"Hi Jim!" He heard from behind him. He and Zack both turned to see Wren waving, looking bright and chipper as if he never slept at all. Zack shot Jim a look that said, _Who__is__this__weirdo__and__how__does__he__know__your__name?_

Wren approached them and Jim decided that he would introduce then dump him on to Zack. "Zack, this is Wren. Met him yesterday. Wren, this is Zack, my cabinmate."

"Sup," Zack said, wary of Jim's sudden friendliness.

"Hey," Wren answered. Jim slid his foot backwards. All he needed was a good excuse, and then-

"ATTENTION! Fall in!" Mr. Yono shouted, perched on the deck like a statue. Jim turned to see everyone explode into action, running over and around each other. He leaped back to avoid being trampled by a large blue boy, then looked around in alarm, trying to find out where the danger was. He felt a hand grab his arm and drag him towards the mast, and looked over to see it was Zack.

"You gotta act quick, Jimmy," he shouted, dodging crowds of people in front of them.

"To what?" he yelled back, struggling to follow Zack's jerky twists. He ended up slamming into most of the people Zack was trying to avoid.

"Fall in," Zack answered. "It means line up."

They cut into the line that had formed in-between a black-haired boy and one with three arms. Mr. Yono strode down the line, checking their order on his list of names. Jim saw him whack a boy over the head that was shuffling around, and he did his best to stand still and straight after that. Yono passed down the line without much further trouble, save a few slouchers and whisperers. He arranged them into two lines, which required far too much energy for Jim (considering he was exhausted to begin with), but apparently it was "a right good standing."

"Now, boys," Yono said, neatly folding his list and putting it in his breast pocket. Jim was surprised no one was going blind with the brightness of his red coat. "Don't expect this voyage to be easy. We _will_test you. You _will_ fail sometimes. To some of you, this will be your wake-up call. To others this is an indication of what's to come. All that matters is that you remember why you're here." He moved his head and Jim swore he was speaking directly to him. "What got you here."

"Permission to speak, sir!" a voice called from the line.

"Granted," Yono answered.

"Will this voyage be counted as part of our formal training?" Jim rolled his eyes - clearly that kid had read the handbook.

"Yes," Yono answered, and then abruptly moved on. "Today we will assign your positions and watches. Over the course of the day we will customize your duties based on your abilities, then you will uphold your position until we reach the Interstellar Academy. Understood?"

"Yes sir," the crowed droned in reply. Jim translated Yono's speech in his mind, looking for possible problems. If you sucked at your job, they'd give you another. Sounded fair enough.

"Alright." Yono pulled another list out of a different jacket pocket and flamboyantly whipped it open. "Here are your positions. Gunners: Azley, Timothy. Zumerston, Wren. Hornferth, Zackary. Deineman, Thomas. Green, John." He continued, through the boatswains, cockswains, navigators (the unlucky apprentices of Mr. Wentworth, Jim noted), riggers, carpenters, and mates, until-

"Lookouts: Hawkins, James." He rolled up the parchment again and smiled at them.

"What?" Jim cried, "How - I'm the _only_lookout?"

Yono looked around angrily for the owner of the voice, but when he found Jim's face glowering from the second row he grinned cheerfully and answered, "We thought you were the one best suited for the job."

"Best suited to sit and do nothing? Sounds like Greenie!" someone muttered. Jim looked down the line to see Butterfingers sneering at him, his over-sized melon head sticking out from the wall of uniform bodies. Jim flipped him the bird and turned his attention back to Yono.

"Sir, I'm more capable than you think, really, I-"

"Hawkins, this is no easy task, as you will soon learn. You will also learn not to speak back to your superiors, am I understood?"

"Yes sir," Jim grumbled, then bit his cheek in frustration.

Yono winked and began pacing along the row of cadets. "_Hopefully,_ you know where you should be. Watch schedule will be posted at lunch hour. Fall out!"

"SIR!" Zack shouted over the roar of chatter that had erupted, "What about _breakfast_?"

"You'll receive all the food you need and lunch and dinner. Breakfast is not necessary," Yono barked. The look on Zack's face was priceless, and Jim started laughing before he remembered he was absolutely starving. He weaved his way through the crowd and punched Zack's shoulder.

"Liar," he said, and grinned when Zack turned around in alarm. "I'm hungry and I woke up for the behaviour speech."

He shrugged and answered, "Not my fault." There was a brief pause, and then - "Kay... bye." Zack abruptly turned and walked towards the other boatswains. Jim chuckled when Wren immediately started yammering to Zack, his mouth going a mile a minute. Then, he turned and began climbing up to the crow's nest.

He'd perfected the art of mast climbing back on the Legacy. It was a matter of judgment; pull higher on a rope or pole, or (if neither of those were available) jump and hope for the best. Jim loved the adrenaline rush he got when he jumped for a support out of reach, when he realized he could fall. Jim crouched down against yard he was on, tensed his legs, and leapt. He was in the air for maybe a split second, but it was long enough for him to feel his heart racing when he landed on the side of the crow's nest. He swung himself into the bucket and settled down into his microcosm. He decided it was wise to get comfortable; he was going to be there for a while.

Quite a long time passed, and absolutely nothing happened. Jim started out by watching the space scenery go by, but that quickly got boring when he realized the sky was all one colour. And the universe was warm. He proceeded to take off his jacket, then boots, then socks, and was seriously debating going shirtless until he thought about what would happen if a star spontaneously combusted right in front of them. Ouch. He was just nodding off to sleep when he heard a loud cry from below. He lurched over the side of the crow's nest, ready to yell flying curses at whoever had woken him up, but then, he noticed something was wrong. Down by the mast, someone had a boy by the neck. Suddenly he lifted him up and slammed him against the wood. Jim felt the impact even from that far up. Before he realized it, he was already climbing down the mast at top speed, despite being completely barefoot. He dropped down behind the commotion to see it was Wren who was against the mast, being held by none other than Butterfingers.

"Whaddayou think you're doing?" Jim said, keeping his voice as quiet as he could considering he was furious. He unconsciously rolled up his sleeves.

Butterfingers turned his head slightly, still holding Wren by the collar of his shirt. "Helping the freak out. You?"

"Put him down. _Now._" Jim said, struggling to maintain calm. He balled his hands into fists when he accidentally looked over at Wren's terrified face. The boy might've been older than many of them, but he certainly didn't show it.

"Gimme a sec, Greenie. I'm doing him a favour, you'll see." Butterfingers turned back towards Wren, and that was when Jim grabbed his shoulder and wrenched him around. Wren dropped to the ground and scuttled backwards, away from the person who had just tortured him. Butterfingers grinned and said, "Hey now, Greenie got something wrong?"

"Yeah. You," Jim replied.

Butterfingers narrowed his eyes and shoved Jim's hand off of his shoulder. "That makes two of us. You got no business with what goes on between me and the freak, so you better just butt out, all right? The kid needs to toughen up some."

Jim took a step forward, putting them face-to-face. "You sick pig."

"Oh ho! Says the one who was the on macking on the scrawny little girl-servant first chance he got!"

So then Jim punched him. Butterfingers' hand flew to his face, and it came back down bloody, most likely from the steady stream his nose was giving. He wiped his face on his sleeve and punched Jim back, hitting him in the stomach. The wind flew out of his lungs, and he received a few more punches before Jim recovered and was able to move again. He ducked the next hit and jabbed Butterfingers in the stomach, to which he answered with kicking Jim's jaw. He flew backwards and landed hard on the deck, then spit blood out beside him. Butterfingers walked calmly, slowly, over to him, and just as he started kicking away like some wild animal, Jim jumped up and hand him by the neck. He dragged them both to the ground, and he was just about to avenge his throbbing jaw when they heard a loud, "ORDER!"

Jim looked up to see Yono looming above them, his shadow blocking out a great deal of light. The look on his face was different from the pompous, pretentious ones he'd worn before, and was so furious that Jim actually let go. He fell back onto his hands, and Butterfingers roll-crawled to a stand. He moved over to beside Yono, looking at Jim with a look that said _I__want__to__kill__you__more__than__I__have__anything__else__in__my__entire__life__which__is__probably__a__lot__of__things__because__I__'__m__a__disgusting__maggot._

"You two - that is no way respectable young men should act! Brawling like... like _pirates!_I'm just-just... who was the first to throw a blow?" He demanded, looking back and forth between the boy beside him and the boy on the ground. Butterfingers wiped his nose on his sleeve once more, which was still steadily dripping blood. Jim tasted a boatload of blood in his mouth, but wasn't about to go make a show of spitting it out. Yono waited a few seconds more, then addressed the crowd gathered around. "Boys. Which one was it?"

The boy Jim was pretty sure was named Timothy spoke up. "It... It was that one sir." He pointed to Jim slowly, giving him a look of apology as he did so. Jim held his gaze and spit his blood at his feet. Okay, maybe he was prepared to make small show of it.

"Very good, lad," Yono said, nodding once to Timothy. He pushed Butterfingers off towards the quarterdeck, muttering, "See the cabingirl, she'll fix you up." He gave Jim a long stare before he dragged him up off the ground by his forearm.

"Wait, sir, that's not fair," a voice from behind shouted. Jim looked back to see it was Wren. "It wasn't Jim's fault, he was just-"

"Enough!" Yono cut in. "The cause doesn't matter. I'm concerned with the results." Jim shook his head at Wren and reluctantly followed Yono into the stateroom.

Yono sat him down on a bench and then went about closing the windows and doors leading out of the room. Jim's heart started thudding wildly as he wondered why he was so carefully securing the exits. Jim stuck of his chin defiantly and Yono began pacing about in front of him. The room was uncomfortably dark. "Hawkins, I'm not... your punishment would typically be cabin chores until we reach the Academy. Swabbing, cooking, that sort of thing," Yono said, seemingly taking extra care to keep his voice down. He paused and stood in front of Jim.

"But?" Jim asked, sensing the word somewhere in that sentence.

"But..." Yono continued, stretching the word out dramatically, "Well, I'm not sure how to put this. You seem to have ... quite a _reputation_ among us men of fortune." He gave Jim a meaningful look.

And then it clicked for Jim. All of the men in the galley, their fear of him, his special placement as a lookout... all they wanted was his money. They thought he'd succeeded in raiding Treasure Planet. He snorted with laughter. "Do I, now?" Jim leaned back against the wall, putting his hands behind his head like he hadn't a care in the world.

Yono smiled nervously. "Yes you do, lad. You know what I'm referring to, don't you? You're a smart boy." He paused, thinking Jim would want to say something, but he decided to let Yono do the talking. He cleared his throat and continued. "Your punishment would be... dreadfully unpleasant, I would imagine, for someone so strong and clever, for a man capable of so much more... I _could,_maybe, convince the other men aboard to ease up on you a little, if, maybe, I had some form of ... payment?" Yono seemed suddenly a different man entirely; nervous, jittery, ringing his hands together like his life depended on it. Jim smiled, realizing the man was totally playing him for a fool.

"Would you, sir? And why would I ever do that?" Jim asked.

Yono frowned slightly. "Mr. Hawkins, I can assure you life as a cabinboy aboard this ship would be very displeasing for-for a student of your caliber. Y-you don't want to waste your precious time scrubbing away at pots and pans, do you? That's mere women's work, not fit for such an ... upstanding young gentleman such as yourself."

Jim shook his head and leaned forward onto his knees. "You have got to be kidding me. I spent the last six months as a cabinboy."

"Which is surely not how you want to spend the next eight."

"It's gonna take eight months to get there? Wow," Jim said, faking a pleasant conversation. "That's a lot of dishes to do."

A light appeared in Yono's eyes. "Yes yes, a great deal!"

Jim rubbed his hands together. "And a lot of hours of swabbing the deck..."

"Yes, yes, very many."

Jim gave Yono a taunting glare. "Guess I'd better get started."

Yono looked shocked; it was hilarious. "What? But- But Mr. Hawkins, this could all just be avoided if-"

"If I bribe you? Let me tell you something, Yono, I would rather spend the rest of my life scrubbing dishes then buy my way out of something." He stood abruptly and made for the door, hoping Yono would be too stunned to do anything about it.

Unfortunately, he was not. Jim felt a hand grab his shoulder and grip it almost painfully. "Listen, boy, this isn't up for debate."

Jim shrugged. "It's my money." Not that he had any of it left, but... still.

"You- you insufferable little-" Jim shoved the man's hand off of his arm before he said anything else.

"Tell Hardy I'll be down to help him tonight at 5 hour," Jim called over his shoulder.

Yono let out a shrill, crazy laugh. "Oh, it's not Hardy you'll be helping," he called. "It's Donna."


	5. Chapter 5: Working for Donna

Chapter 5: Working for Donna

Jim was actually a little anxious to see what the girl would have in store for him that evening, although he would never admit it. He was expecting a massive pile of dishes, or perhaps all of her laundry from the past month. Jim cringed; he didn't think he'd be able to handle washing a girl's clothes. He prayed it was only the dishes waiting for him in the galley.

However, when he got there, he found that there was _nothing_ waiting for him in the galley. Not even Donna. He walked over to the counter, looking around the large room as he did so. It was five hour, where was she?

Jim nearly leapt out of his skin when he heard, "You don't seem to have a bad right arm, Hawkins," from behind him. He whipped around just in time to see a blur drop down from the ceiling mere inches from where he was standing. Donna's face popped up before his, and then he really did jump. He staggered back a step or two and watched as Donna's friendly smile morphed into a laugh. "Didn't scare you, did I?"

"No," Jim snapped back, slightly annoyed with her for scaring the starblazes out of him. "And what do you mean about my right arm?"

Donna chuckled quietly and walked over to the counter behind him. "John came to see me with his face as bloody as a heart attack. He wouldn't tell me what happened, but I said I wouldn't fix him until he told me, so then he said it was _you _who threw the punch that nearly broke his nose." She bent to reach the lower cupboard and Jim looked down over her.

"Serves him right," Jim muttered, leaning over to see what she was reaching for. And his name was John? Huh. Didn't sound at all like "Butterfingers".

She shot back up and nearly smacked straight into him, but he jerked back quick enough to avoid a collision. "He wouldn't tell me why you punched him though, and I couldn't blackmail him into it because Yono came down. I want the dirt on this. So..." She trailed off and hopped up onto the counter, waving a mop and bucket around lazily. "Do tell."

Jim took a moment to decide how to tell his story. Then, coming upon a conclusion, he stuck a cocky grin on his face and shrugged. "Well, I-"

Donna stuck a you've-got-to-be-kidding-me expression on her face. "Cut the crap, Hawkins, I know you took some punches too."

"Says who?"

"Says your bruised jaw, that's who."

Jim rubbed his jaw absentmindedly, which _was _sore now that he thought about it. "Look, do you want gossip for your little school friends or not?"

Donna snorted. "No little school friends for me. Can't have those if you don't go to school."

Jim became very confused. Donna _wasn't _going to the Academy? Then how did she end up on this boat? "What d'you mean?"

She gave him a confused frown, then her eyes widened in realization and she burst out into bitter laughter. "You didn't think little old _me _was going to the prestigious Interstellar Academy, did you?" She shook her head and stared at the ground, a scowl taking over her face.

He gave her the same are-you-kidding-me look. "You're on the boat headed there, genius. What's your story?"

She handed Jim the mop and bucket, then hopped off of the counter. "I'm here 'cause the Captain's my uncle," she said, then turned and climbed up the stairs onto the deck.

Jim followed her, a curious interest suddenly grabbing a hold of him. He was greeted by the rush of cool air when he stepped up onto the deck. The sky was just fading to purple from the brilliant blue it had been all day, and the temperature was changing with it. "And... that puts you here because...?"

She went about lighting the lanterns around the deck. It was only after a long pause and the fire on the match was nipping at her fingertips did she answer. "My parents are... rather out of commission, right now." She gave him a grim smile and flicked the match out into the galaxy. She grabbed at her ponytail and looked around.

Jim let out a half-laugh. "That bad, huh?"

Donna looked up at him, the fire making shadows flicker across her face. "No, it's not... they died when I was seven." She was aiming for non-chalant, but failed miserably. Upon realizing this, she lunged for Jim's bucket and took it over to a pump. Jim thought she was walking a little too briskly and really hoped he hadn't offended her too much, or hit a nerve too hard. Gathering up is courage, he picked up his mop and jogged after her, kneeling down beside her as she filled up the bucket.

"I'm sorry," he said awkwardly. He wasn't sure there was too much more to say, although he was dying of curiosity. So had she spent her whole life in space? Did she sail? Or was she just a cabingirl?

"It's no big deal, I'm doing just fine," she answered abruptly. Jim furrowed his brow when he realized he'd said the exact same thing once. Did he sound so hurt when he'd said that to Silver? Surely he'd pulled it off better. He could lie, after all, and his dad leaving wasn't really that big of a deal, so yes, he'd definitely sounded more casual when that phrase had come out of _his _mouth. Or so he hoped.

He cleared his throat, stalling for time to think of what to say. "If it helps, my dad left when I was nine, so..." He cursed at himself inwardly. He somehow doubted Donna would really care about his "troubled childhood" story. It would probably just make her hate him more, and set her off on a rant about how his struggles didn't really measure up to hers, which wasn't really fair when he thought about it, because they were kind of in the same boat. Not literally, even though the were, but because of who they'd lost, and-

Jim's mental panicking was interrupted when he heard Donna murmur a small, "I'm sorry."

He stared at her in shock. Well, that was different. "What do you want me to swab?" he asked quickly, standing up. He hoped that the sudden change of topic would cure Donna's sudden shyness. He made a mental note not to talk about her past again. Unless it was about that Pygmy Rex, because he was sure that that would amount to an interesting story.

Jim saw Donna physically move away from the topic of her parents. She stood up and put her hands on her hips, looking around like she was evaluating the state of the deck. She nodded once, and told him, "Do it all. Yono's going to want it spotless, anyway, so it's better to get it done now."

Jim rolled his eyes. "What's his deal, anyway? He seems like a pain in the-" he cut off when Donna raised an eyebrow at him.

She shrugged. "He's the first mate. There's always something wrong with them, haven't you noticed?" Jim nodded, afraid to tell her that this was only his second real voyage. God, he could just imagine the insults that would come with that one.

After wetting his mop, he began vigorously cleaning the deck. Donna watched a for a moment, until he asked, "Don't you have work to do? Or are you just going to dump it all onto me?" She pushed him playfully and hopped off of the barrel she was sitting on.

"I'm just making sure you do it right, that's all."

"I think you're just admiring me from afar."

"Oh, of course, Hawkins. That lovely spacesick body of yours."

"If you keep turning that on me, I'll never pick up another mop again."

"Alright, alright. Meet me in the galley when you're done." Before he could even answer, she jogged off into the shadows and presumably into the galley. Jim watched her leave and then continued scrubbing.

Jim scrubbed. And scrubbed. And scrubbed. And scrubbed. And wrung out the mop. And scrubbed. And scrubbed. And dumped the bucket of dirty, soapy water over into the galaxy. And scrubbed once more, just for good measure. At last, when the deck was practically gleaming, he took his bucket and mop and venture down into the galley, which was nearly pitch black.

He found Donna asleep against the counter, still nearly standing. He chuckled, and walked over to her. With his other hand still occupied by the cleaning supplies, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her to her feet as gently as he could manage. She woke with a start and jerked herself out of his arm immediately. She rubbed her eyes in a rush and adjusted her ponytail. "The deck's done?" she asked, her voice sounding surprisingly alert.

Jim nodded. "Gleaming like a whistle." He threw the mop and bucket in the general corner they were supposed to be in and hopped up onto the counter. "Anything else to be done, boss?" he asked, only a partially sarcastic.

Donna decided to let it slide. She looked around quickly, noticed it was nearly midnight, and answered, "No, it's probably about time you go to sleep. Otherwise you'll barely be standing tomorrow." When Jim tried to protest, she shooed him away by literally shoving him towards the stairs. He gave her a lopsided grin and headed off to bed.

As he changed in to nightclothes and tried to at least make an attempt at maintaining hygiene, he wondered vaguely if Donna expected much from her future. If she had anyone who believed in her as much as Silver believed in him. Because, he decided, someone definitely should.


	6. Chapter 6: Racing is not allowed

Chapter 6: Racing is not allowed

The next few weeks passed quickly for Donna. With Jim helping her, her workload was done in half the time. She had so much spare time she wasn't quite sure what to do with it. She taught a few classes, when she could, but Yono seemed to think that a girl wasn't fit to teach and let her direct only the simplest of classes, mostly to please the captain. She acted as lookout, occasionally, to give Mr. Zimmer a break. She read the only book she could find on the ship; it wasn't very interesting. Mostly, she just talked to Jim, when he didn't have classes or watch.

"It's perfect weather for a board right now," Jim whispered, almost longingly. The scarlet glow of the sky hit his face square on, Donna noticed as she looked at him. They were perched rather precariously on the topmast, but the thought that they could fall to their deaths had crossed neither of their minds. Jim and Donna were only interested in how, from way up here, the stars looked even closer and the sky looked even brighter and the universe looked even more endless.

"A board?" Donna asked,

Jim tore his gaze away from the omnipresent horizon and glanced at her. "Solar surfing."

She shook her head. "Never tried it."

Jim's jaw dropped and Donna felt suddenly self-conscious. "You've never been solar surfing?" he shouted incredulously.

She frowned and snapped, "So what if I haven't?"

Jim chuckled. "Calm down, nessie, I only meant I was surprised you hadn't."

Donna was always astonished at how she could never really be tough around Jim anymore. He always laughed at her in that low, breathy sort of way and told her to cut it out. And she always did. "What's it like?" she asked softly, not really meaning to say it out loud.

The biggest grin appeared on Jim's face. "Oh, it's amazing. Especially - when you get high enough, you turn off your board and just let yourself free fall... just before you hit the ground, swing back up again - oh man, it's the best."

He turned his head to look at her, and dropped the goofy smile when he saw her barely-restrained laughter. "You'll have to teach me sometime," she said, completely sincere. How different could it be from sailing, really? Just a smaller ship and less room for error and higher stakes. Sounded like a challenge.

"Hey, laugh all you want, but when the time comes that I get to teach you, you won't be laughing so hard." He gave her a playful shove of the shoulder, and then she really did laugh.

"Oh we'll see about that. Who's gonna be laughing when I show you up at your own sport, huh?"

He scoffed. "Oh please, like _you _could ever show me up at anything."

"Wanna bet?"

"Oh, you're on."

"Race you to the bottom!" With that, she leapt down from the mast to grab hold of the rope dangling below. She started rapidly scaling down the mast, and she was several feet down before Jim could even react. He was determined not to be beaten though, and jumped down onto the rope as well. He could climb much quicker than she could, but with her head start, Donna was still ahead. She was about to drop to the ground when Jim beat her to it - and she watched in shock as the brown-grey blur whizzed past her. Jim looked up at her from the deck with a cocky grin, and Donna started laughing. She didn't think anyone could climb faster than she could; apparently, she was wrong.

She jumped down from the ropes just in time to her "You two! Whaddya think you're doing?"

They both looked over in alarm as Yono came rushing across the deck, stomping and marching theatrically. "Don't think I didn't see that! You could get yourself _killed, _did you know that? Or did you just not care? Because no one who knew the risk would do something as _stupid _as going willy nilly down a mast like that! And at that _speed? _Get back to work, the both of you, before the Captain hears about this!"

Both of them weren't fazed by Yono's screamfest, and nodded half-heartedly. They grabbed some mops and swabbed the deck in silence until Yono finally went away. As soon as he was out of earshot, they looked at each other and burst into laughter.

Their fit lasted about ten minutes, and ended with both of them on the ground in tears. The grinned at each other, and Jim asked, "Does he know that we're done our chores?"

And then they laughed some more.


	7. Chapter 7: Captain's orders

_A/N: Okie dokie! This is where the one and only! TheHallow! ME! Comes in! This is all me baby! ;P alright! I tried to match styles with Never as much as possible! :0 But I might just end up being in my style anyways :P  
_

_Enjoy!_

* * *

Chapter 7: Captain's Orders

If Jim ever said that being in the crows nest was fun, then he would be lying. Don't get him wrong, the views were the best, and it was nice to be able to take his boots off. But Jim didn't want to sit around to call out for Orcus Galacticus migrations. Sure the Orcus' were cool and all, but Jim wanted to work, he wanted to prove his skills. If he were to spend the rest of the trip not working on deck, then he would rather be solar sailing.

Jim got out of the crows nest to pace on the yard on the main mast. The breeze from the Etherium whipped Jim's clothes and he just had to close his eyes and imagine being on a Solar Surfer.

He had promised Donna that he would teach her how to ride on a Solar Surfer, but he didn't have his surfer on board with him. His mother didn't let him bring it because she was afraid that it would only give him trouble and then before he knew it he would be shipped back home. Of course she was exaggerating, but Jim complied with his mother to calm her nerves.

"Hmm, I wonder if I could build one," Jim thought out loud as he stretched his arms out for balance. It was the early hours of the morning and the Entherium shined a light purple and blue.

"Build one of what?" Jim jumped a little almost losing his balance before spinning around at who was talking to him.

"Wren! By Thunder, don't sneak up on me like that," Jim yelled out. Wren only gave an apologetic smile and a shrug, "So what are you thinking of building?"

Jim walked back over to Wren, and hopped into the Crows nest, "uhh, well, just a solar surfer," he said awkwardly with a shrug.

Wren lifted a brow at Jim, "_just _a Solar Surfer?" he said sarcastically before snapping his head and giving Jim a shocked look, "You mean you can build a Solar Surfer?" he yelled out in astonishment, "with the sail, engine, and everything?"

Jim laughed at Wren's excitement, "Hey I wasn't joking when I tried to tell everyone that I wasn't only good at getting Spacesick," he joked.

"Woah," Wren complimented staring back out into the Etherium, "I could never be able to build a Solar Surfer," he mused sounding a little Jealous. Jim could only smile as they drifted through the Etherium.

"Ahoy! Mr. Hawkins," Jim heard from the deck, he looked down to see Captain Rorey was the one that called out to Jim, "Any grey skies?" the captain shouted. Jim looked around the Ethurium, turning a full three-sixty, before shouting back, "Not a dark cloud in sight, sir!"

"Good work, lad," the Captain complimented, "Now come down on deck, and bring Mr. Zumerston, we'll be doing some training today." Wren, who was also looking down at the Captain offhandedly commented, "It seems the Captain likes you, Jim. Hey! Maybe you could ask him if you can build a Solar Surfer!"

Jim gave Wren a look as he put his boots back on, "Ehh, I guess," he said stomping his foot into his boot, "But I don't see how he will permit me to build one." he added doubtfully. "Oh come on, Jim! This will give the Captain a chance to see some of your skills!" he added following Jim down the shrouds and onto the deck.

But before Jim could think of a reply to Wren's suggestion, Yono had come onto deck and blown the whistle for attention.

"Now then Lads, since today is such a nice day, The Capt'n has decided that today will be the day teh teach yeh how to control the Longboats," Yono said as he strolled down the line, his sailor accent slipping through every other word. When he got to Jim's end he stopped, "We'll start with Mr. Green," he called down to the other end of the line were that Butterfingers kid was. Jim supposed that this was Yono's strange way of getting back at Jim for not sharing a portion of his "loot".

Yono looked down at Jim before smirking, "Mr. Hawkins will be last today, so you can go back to that nest up there while you wait," causing a few snickers from the other students. Jim glowered at Yono saluted him with a "Yes, sir," and climbed back up the shrouds and into the crows nest.

For the rest of the day Jim sat, nearly bored to death, watching his peers each learn how to steer the longboats. He enjoyed a laugh or two as he watched Butterfingers mess up, but after that the lessons got boring. By the time it was Jim's turn the Etherium was now a dark purple, and the stars twinkled from far off galaxies.

"Alright, Mr. Hawkins," Yono called as Wren stepped out of the longboat and back on deck. "Good luck," he heard Wren whisper, his tone sounded a bit put out, but Jim didn't let that get to him. He was too excited that he was actually doing something other than sitting around. Stuffing his hand's in his pockets, he hopped into the Longboat casually and took his seat next to the controls.

Yono looked at Jim a little condescendingly before explaining the controls. Jim just smiled as he listened to Yono's explaining, "So in order to be able to use the steering you must disable the hydrolics-" Jim's grin grew wide when he heard Yono's mistake, "-Sir, I think you mean that you need to _stabilize_ the hydrolics first, I'm pretty sure disabling them would make the longboat drift into Space," he corrected, albeit a little brazenly. Yono shot Jim a look before continuing his lesson, "Alright, Mr. Hawkins," he said after his explanation was over, "try steering the Longboat away from the ship and into the Etherium."

"Don't get Spacesick while you're at it, Greenie," Jim heard from on deck, but he ignored it. This was his element, and there was no way Jim could mess it up. Giving a small smirk, he instantly met the parameter, locked one of the steering extensions, stabilized the hydrolics, took the lock off of the steering extension, turned the engines at full blast, and smoothly flipped the longboat out into the Etherium. Without needing any instruction from Yono, having watched all his other peers do the training exercise, Jim sped the longboat out into the Etherium, zipped around a large and slow meteor, possibly squeezing in a spin or two, sped back towards the ship only to stop a few meters away from the port side. Jim looked over at Yono with an expectant look, "any other orders, sir?"

Yono huffed, giving Jim a very mean and pointed look, "take 'er down bellow, Mr. Hawkins," he said cryptically. Jim only smiled, "yes, sir, let's load her up," neutralizing the engine, he then slowly lowered her down and under the ship back to the loading docks in the hold. When Jim finished tying up the longboat, he turned around to face Yono for further instructions. "Mr. Hawkins, I suggest that you never disobey orders again, is that understood?" Jim knew he was going to get chewed out.

"Yes, sir."

"Good, you shall expect a call from the Captain sometime soon for your behavior today," Yono finished lamely, as he glared down at Jim. Jim felt very much cheated, but he knew not to talk back to a commanding officer. Even though he hadn't exactly disobeyed orders from Yono, and if this were the old Jim he would have protested and whined, but now he was a new Jim, so he kept his mouth shut, and saluted when he was dismissed.

When Jim finally climbed back up on deck, he was hailed on by Wren and Zack, "Mate, that was awesome," Zack complimented lightly punching him in the shoulder. Jim laughed as Wren went on a play-by-play on Jim's flying skills, Jim didn't bother telling him that he already knew how to fly a Longboat, he didn't want to seem too cocky. So he just smiled and followed along as they went down for dinner.

* * *

The next morning, Jim wasn't surprised when he was called out of line and into the Captain's quarters. The grin on Yono's face when he told Jim to go see the Captain was almost poisonous. As he walked up the stairs to the Captain's Quarters he bumped into someone rather tall, "Oof, s-sorry" he called out, only to be straightened out by hands that felt incredibly boney, "Watch out there Hawkins," said Mr. Wentworth, who then left with a creepy smile on his face. Jim shivered for a second before he ascended the rest of the steps and knocked on the Captain's quarters.

He entered after hearing a muffled, "come in," and stood at attention in front of the Captain's desk. Captain Rorey was looking over some maps with a divider, calculating certain distances to destinations. Jim expecting to be chewed out... again... waited silently for the Captain to say something, "Mr. Hawkins, there is a rumor that you have excellent skills in flying a longboat," Jim snapped his head up to the Captain, who was resting his chin on his arms and smiling at Jim. There was a certain twinkle of mischief in the Captain's eyes that Jim had never thought he could see on a Captain. Jim's face broke out in a lip breaking grin at the Captain's compliment, "yes, sir."

"I know what pretenses you were sent here under, James," the Captain began, standing up from his chair, "But I'm just letting you off the hook this one time," he winked, "I know what it is like to sit around all day and then be keen for some action, but next time try to control it, you are on a ship after all and you must learn to follow your superiors," he added with a lightly stern tone yet he still kept his jolly smile.

Jim just grinned at the Captain for his forgiveness, but then he remembered how Yono tried to get a bribe from him and his grin faltered, "Have something on your mind?" the Captain asked, noticing his grin falter. "Yes, sir," Jim answered, it wasn't fair for the superiors on this ship to all feel the need to give Jim special privileges just because he had some supposed treasure. "Sir, I know that some of the crew know of my voyage to Treasure Planet," Jim stated bluntly, "Oh?" the Captain replied, his jolly smile and twinkly eyes never faltering.

"Yes, sir, I just want you to know, that I don't have any treasure," Jim said in all seriousness, it was true, he spent the handful Silver gave him on rebuilding his mother's inn. There was none left. "And the planet no longer exists either..." at this the Captain seemed to peak his interest, "no longer exists?" he asked seeming to enjoy this news immensely. "Ah, yes sir, the planet was booby trapped by Flint, he didn't want anybody having his treasure," Jim explained.

"Ah, to be so protective over something to even guard it beyond death is almost absurd, It's not like he was going to use it after death anyways," The Captain commented, playing around with one of his tools, "No matter, I'm glad the blasted planet is gone, and the treasure along with it! Too many lives have been wasted dreaming about that treasure," the Captain added. This lightly perplexed Jim, was the Captain not after James' fortune after all?

"Excuse me sir, but are you saying that you have no interest in that treasure?" Jim asked, the captain only gave Jim a jolly chuckle, "Well I can't say that it's not a tempting prize," he admitted, "but no, I have no interest in such a loot, there would be so much that I wouldn't know what to do with it," he ended with a hearty laugh.

Jim let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding, he was thankful that the Captain wasn't trying to get a bribe from Jim. That would have led to too many complications while on this Voyage. Jim decided not to tell the Captain about Yono looking for a bribe, there wasn't much of a point when they would just have to keep him around until after the trip anyways, it would be better to tell the Captain when they got to the Academy.

"Will that be all, sir?" Jim asked, backing towards the door. "Ah, yes, James, thank you for being a good sport," the Captain said turning back to his maps. Just as Jim was about to open the door, he remembered the conversation he had with Wren just yesterday morning.

He sighed, chuckling as he stared at the door, he couldn't believe he was going to even ask. "Actually Sir, I have one more question." Jim said turning back around, the Captain fixed Jim with a look of curiosity, "yes, my boy? What is it?"

"Well, I was just wondering, sir," Jim began suddenly feeling rather bashful, "Seeing as you had first said that we are to prove our skills," Jim sort of mumbled, rubbing the side of his face, "I was wondering, if I could have permission to build a Solar Surfer," he finished with a shrug, looking over at the Captain timidly.

"Hmm, yes, well I don't see any crime in that," The Captain replied after a few minutes, "I'm sure we have some extra supplies in the bilge to build a Solar Surfer, since we're floating around in space and not on sea you wont need to worry a thing about getting anything wet," he smiled at Jim's shocked expression, "Surprised?" the Captain asked.

Jim shook his head, "Sorry, sir, I just-" he chuckled, "I just never thought you would actually agree to that," he laughed in relief. The Captain smiled at Jim, "Well, just make sure you don't make me regret that decision," the Captain replied jovially.

"Yes, sir, of course sir, I won't let you down," Jim stuttered smiling as he backed towards the door again. "Goodbye, James," the Captain said smiling. "Uh, Goodbye Captain," Jim said as he left the Captain's quarters with a large smile. At least now his time on the ship wouldn't be as boring as he originally thought it would be.

* * *

That evening, Jim found himself peeling Hora Potatoes down in the galley with Donna. "So, there's a rumor going around," Donna said as she peeled a potato perfectly. "Yeah?" Jim asked with a mischievous smile. Donna chuckled, Jim thought for a second that she was blushing, but he rationalized that it was probably a light sunburn from when they passed by that particularly hot sun, "yeah, there's a rumor that Spacesick Jim is the best Longboat flyer on this ship," she joked picking up a new Hora Potato. Jim laughed, "Well, what can I say?" he shrugged, "I told you that I'm not weak." he said, trying to make a gag.

But what Donna heard from him was insecurity, she turned to Jim with her most serious expression, "I never thought you were weak," she admitted, almost as though offended, "Everybody get's a little spacesick now and then," she said peeling her potato. It took a few minutes for Donna's words to sink in, "Am I dreaming, or did the notorious Donna Rorey just give me, James Hawkins, a compliment?" he exclaimed sarcastically, earning a good laugh from Donna, "Hey, don't get used to it!" she joked. They then continued peeling the potatoes in silence, when Jim scrunched up his brow, "Wait a minute, If you didn't think I was weak on the first day, then why did you force me to drink that nasty stuff?" he asked raising an eyebrow. The only thing he got from her was a smirk.

The rest of the evening passed by smoothly, until it was time to clean up the mess hall. Jim was sweeping when he heard a strange sound come from behind him. It sounded like a knife being unsheathed, or as though a metallic object was lightly scraping against another metallic object. Jim tensed, listening for any other sounds, when suddenly Jim was pinned face first into the wall of the mess hall, "What the-" Jim cried out. "Sorry mate," Jim recognized Zack's voice as he was pushed against the wall. "What in the world is going on here?" Jim yelled trying to struggle out of Zack's hold.

Suddenly he felt cold and delicate hands on the back of his neck, "I'm sorry Jim," Donna said, "it's just the Captain's orders," she said apologetically as Jim felt a cold object on his neck. "What the hell are you doing?" Jim shouted, when suddenly he heard the sound of a _snip _and felt a small weight lift from his neck. Jim was released and he instantly spun around feeling the back of his neck. At first, he didn't see what they had done back there, there wasn't any blood or anything, no cuts or bruises and nothing seemed to hurt.

It was when he looked up at Donna that he realized what they had done. Jim widened his eyes in horror because in her hand was a small braid of brown hair. "No! You didn't?!" Jim begged, hoping that what he was looking at was not in fact his braid. It took him years to grow that out! Jim looked over at Zack, only to see an apologetic grimace, "You cut it off?!" Jim yelled, reaching behind his neck to find the small tuft of hair that used to be the coolest part of his hairdo.

"I'm sorry, mate," Zack said, "Donna told me the Captain ordered her to do it! And she knew she would never have gotten you to cut it on purpose!" he tried to explain. Jim whipped his head to look back at Donna, who gave a semi apologetic shrug, still holding Jim's braid hostage in one hand, with the murder weapon in her other. Jim gave Donna a hard look before huffing in irritation, "That took forever to grow out," he whined slumping his shoulders, " You guys scared the crap outta me! I thought I was going to get murdered or something!" he cried out before rubbing his temple, "whatever," he conceded, "Captain's orders are captain's orders... even though I wish I had been the one to do it," he threw another hard look at Donna, who was now putting the scissors away and throwing the braid into the trash barrel by the door.

"Good riddance," Donna mumbled as she watched the braid float down to the bottom of the barrel, "that braid was so unattractive," Donna confessed. Jim narrowed his eyes at her, "My braid was awesome!" he cried out, defending his lost friend.

"Well, hey, mate!" Zack said leaning an arm on Jim's shoulder, "you do look rather sharp with your new hair cut." Jim glared his hardest most deep hated glare at Zack, "Hey just trying to lighten things up," he said lifting himself off of Jim. "My braid," Jim whimpered, leaving the mess hall for his bunker room.

The next day, Jim wouldn't stop rubbing the spot where his braid once was. By the time it was lunch, he had an angry red blotch on the back of his neck. When he had looked at himself in the mirror that morning, he did admit that with the braid gone he looked clean-cut. He looked less like a pirate and more like a Spacer. Besides, Jim knew that the Academy wasn't going to let him keep his braid, they would have made him cut it off anyways. Although he wished that he could have kept it around longer, he was sort of thankful that the Captain ordered to cut off the braid.

Some of his peers had noticed the loss of his braid and even tried making stupid cracks about it, but Jim just ignored them. For once felt thankful that he was isolated in the crows nest and wouldn't be forced to hear the other students lame jokes.

At around lunch, Jim had ducked into the back of the hold and into the bilge to search for some parts and instantly began working on the engine for his Solar Surfer. By the time the break was over, Jim was already moving onto the turbo booster, which was a small square made up of pipes and other whatchamacallits that Jim had an astute knowledge for. The booster was small enough to fit into Jim's pockets, which was perfect since he could sneak it up into the crows nest and keep himself from being bored. Jim was able to hide the engine behind some crates in the very back of the hold, Jim wouldn't need to worry about anybody finding it since the crates wouldn't be sought out for until the end of the voyage.

So far, it was a pretty calm day out in the Etherium, which is why Jim wasn't expecting anything the least bit ominous to happen. Yes the Etherium was clear and bright just as it had been for the past few days, that is until sometime around fourteen-hundred hours. Jim was fiddling around with the pressure sensor in his turbo boost, he had accidentally dropped his screw driver and bent down to get he straightened himself up again and looked back out into the Etherium, was when he saw it.

A massive, menacing, dark grey fog had materialized out of thin air, and the ship was heading straight for it.

* * *

_A/N: Alright! Here is is! this entire chapter is all me! I tried as much as possible to match the writing style of NeverHeardOfFanFicUntilNow's but I am a different person so I expect that it does sound a little different. lol Anyways! I am super proud of this chapter! I slaved over it! I know it seems kind of pointless to work so hard over a fanfic that probably isn't going to get a lot of attention, but I decided to do it anyways because not only am I having fun, but because I'm doing it as an intense TP Fan!  
TP FOREVER BABY! lol  
_

_Anyways, I'm sure I need some explaining on some ship terms that may confuse you. _

_As I'm sure you have figured out, the Hold of the ship is the very bottom, it's where the crates, and other stuff is kept. I assumed that in Treasure Planet, it is also where the Longboats are held. _

_Now you might be wondering, what the heck is a Bilge then? Well, in normal ships that sail the seas, the Bilge is in the back of the ship where the two sides of the hull meet, it is where water from leaks in the hull, rainwater, human waste (ew), and oil leaks from the engine and drive components collect, some ships have Bilge pumps that can pump the water back out of the ship. Not every ship has a bilge pump automatically installed (so if you're buying a boat make sure you have one or else you may find your self sinking lol). So as you can see I have used the Bilge for a different purpose in this Fanfic, seeing as they are out in space and not in sea there wont be random fluids in there. _

_Okay now, I must confess, I don't have a supreme knowledge of ships and the like. I tried to do my best with research and stuff, and that is what I found. Now in this fanfic I am using the bilge as a place where extra parts and tech are kept. I just felt that it made sense for this syfy ship as it is an extra space right behind the hold that is perfect for putting stuff there. Now, I'm sure you noticed the human waste part... I have intentionally skipped however in the world they are keeping themselves sanitary, just assume that they have bathrooms and showers and the like somewhere. lol _

_Sorry for this super long explanation XD I hope you have learned something awesome from it! hahaha _

_Please Review and tell me how I did! Thank you for reading! _


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